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 147,016 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

This review summarizes the present knowledge on melatonin in several areas on physiology and discusses various prospects of its clinical utilization. Ever increasing evidence indicates that melatonin has an immuno-hematopoietic role. In animal studies, melatonin provided protection against gram-negative septic shock, prevented stress-induced immunodepression, and restored immune function after a hemorrhagic shock. In human studies, melatonin amplified the antitumoral activity of interleukin-2. Melatonin has been proven as a powerful cytostatic drug in vitro as well as in vivo. In the human clinical field, melatonin appears to be a promising agent either as a diagnostic or prognostic marker of neoplastic diseases or as a compound used either alone or in combination with the standard cancer treatment. Utilization of melatonin for treatment of rhythm disorders, such as those manifested in jet lag, shift work or blindness, is one of the oldest and the most successful clinical application of this chemical. Low doses of melatonin applied in controlled-release preparation were very effective in improving the sleep latency, increasing the sleep efficiency and rising sleep quality scores in elderly, melatonin-deficient insomniacs. In the cardiovascular system, melatonin seems to regulate the tone of cerebral arteries; melatonin receptors in vascular beds appear to participate in the regulation of body temperature. Heat loss may be the principal mechanism in the initiation of sleepiness caused by melatonin. The role of melatonin in the development of migraine headaches is at present uncertain but more research could result in new ways of treatment. Melatonin is the major messenger of light-dependent periodicity, implicated in the seasonal reproduction of animals and pubertal development in humans. Multiple receptor sites detected in brain and gonadal tissues of birds and mammals of both sexes indicate that melatonin exerts a direct effect on the vertebrate reproductive organs. In a clinical study, melatonin has been used successfully as an effective female contraceptive with little side effects. Melatonin is one of the most powerful scavengers of free radicals. Because it easily penetrates the blood-brain barrier, this antioxidant may, in the future, be used for the treatment of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, stroke, nitric oxide, neurotoxicity and hyperbaric oxygen exposure. In the digestive tract, melatonin reduced the incidence and severity of gastric ulcers and prevented severe symptoms of colitis, such as mucosal lesions and diarrhea.
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PMID:Prospects of the clinical utilization of melatonin. 973 May 80

Diabetes is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, coronary heart disease, stroke, acute myocardial infarction, blindness, and renal failure. Strategies to reduce their occurrence are an essential focus of patient care. More than one pathogenic process is involved, and genetics influence the risk. Hyperglycemia is a factor in the development of microvascular and possibly macrovascular complications. Two possible mechanisms of glucose damage are glycation of proteins and the polyol pathway. Research led to the identification of drugs that block parts of the pathways. In clinical trials, intensive control of blood glucose concentrations decreased the risk of microvascular complications. Adverse effects associated with intensive therapy, however, include hypoglycemia and weight gain.
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PMID:Effect of blood glucose concentrations on the development of chronic complications of diabetes mellitus. 975 8

An 11-year-old boy presented with seizure and cortical blindness. A T1 weighted magnetic resonance image of the brain showed high signal intensity in the bilateral corpus striatum and long T1 and T2 changes in the bilateral occipital and cerebellar hemispheric regions. Increased cerebrospinal fluid lactate concentration of 56.7 mg/dl and blood lactate concentration of 34.2 mg/dl were also noted. A muscle biopsy obtained from the quadriceps femoris muscle showed the presence of ragged red fibers and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis showed an A-->G mutation at nucleotide position 3243. MtDNA analysis of the patient's mother revealed the same mutation. These findings indicated MELAS syndrome (mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes).
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PMID:Childhood MELAS syndrome presenting with seizure and cortical blindness: a case report. 988 47

Carbohydrate-deficient glycoprotein syndrome type 1 (CDGS-1) is an autosomal recessive hereditary metabolic disorder, the gene locus of which is chromosome 16p13. The disorder is characterised by genetic heterogeneity, and by decrease in the gene product, phosphomannomutase 2, though the heterogeneity is far less manifest in affected Swedish families. Its incidence is 1/80,000 live births, and the under-5 mortality rate over 30 per cent. The causes of death are liver failure, cardiac tamponade, haemorrhaging, and severe infection. The characteristic biochemical aberration is the occurrence of deficient carbohydrate chains in many but not all circulating glycoproteins, and the serum and blood concentrations of some glycoproteins may be above or below normal. These changes may improve over time, but never normalise. The clinical picture is generally more problematic during the first years of life when psychomotor retardation is complicated by failure to thrive, liver dysfunction, pericardial effusions, and stroke-like episodes. In addition, strabismus, lipocutaneous anomalies, and gluteal fat pads are always present, and muscular hypotonia and restricted joint mobility are common. Failure to thrive is common, with vomiting and diarrhoea and subsequent slow growth. Inflammation is a constant finding in the liver, and very common in the small bowel. Pancreatic function is also affected. Pericardial effusion has been reported in 50 per cent of the youngest children, requiring pericardectomy in 30 per cent of cases. Haemorrhaging and thromboembolic complications may occur, and the serum concentrations of several factors and inhibitors are low, particularly those of factors V and XI, protein C and antithrombin. Stroke-like episodes occur in about 30 per cent of cases, often following an infection, with coma lasting for hours to several days. Such sequelae as hemiplegia, blindness, and other focal neurological pathology have been observed transiently. Diagnosis is based on the serum carbohydrate-deficient transferrin level, verified by isoelectric focusing. Molecular genetic procedures enable point mutations to be identified and prenatal diagnosis to be performed in many families.
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PMID:[CDGS-1--a recently discovered hereditary metabolic disease. Multiple organ manifestations, incidence 1/80,000, difficult to treat]. 988 93

We retrospectively study 17 cases (total cases 197), receiving surgery at Kaohsiung Medical College Hospital, which are proved to be subacute pituitary apoplexy via preoperative computerized tomograms, magnetic resonance imagings, operative findings and pathological proof. Fourteen patients had headache; 15 cases were with visual disturbance including visual defect, blindness. One case was found incidentally to have a cerebral vascular attack. None of these cases received bromocriptine. Preoperative computerized tomograms (CT) aided the initial diagnosis and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is preferred for radiological investigation in displaying the metabolic products of hemorrhage within the pituitary tumors. Operative findings revealed xanthochromic fluid with liquid-like tumor debris or chocolate-like content. All these patients received hormone supplement when pituitary apoplexy was highly suspected.
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PMID:Subacute pituitary apoplexy-analysis of 17 cases. 1008 16

Morbidity and mortality in diabetes are caused mainly by its vascular complications, both in the microcirculation and in the large vessels. Diabetic nephropathy and retinopathy are the clinical hallmarks of microangiopathy, which may lead to end-stage renal failure and blindness. The cardiovascular complications in diabetes consist mainly of an accelerated form of atherosclerosis. Systemic hypertension is an early and frequent phenomenon. Nocturnal hypertension is also more frequent in people with diabetes compared with the nondiabetic population. Capillary hypertension has been demonstrated in type 1 diabetic patients. Poor metabolic control may induce elevation in blood pressure, but data are conflicting. The prevalence of white-coat hypertension in the diabetic population is comparable with that in the nondiabetic population. Prospective observational studies in type 1 and type 2 patients have revealed that abnormally increased urinary albumin excretion and other potentially modifiable risk factors--such as hypertension, smoking, poor metabolic control, and social class--predict increased all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Arterial hypertension is a risk factor in the initiation and progression of diabetic micro- and macroangiopathy. Diabetes, hypertension, and smoking are the three most important risk factors for fatal and nonfatal stroke. A randomized, double-blind, parallel study has revealed that the 5-year major cardiovascular disease rate was lowered by 34% for antihypertensive treatment compared with placebo. Furthermore, the study found a trend for lower all-cause mortality for low-dose antihypertensive-treated diabetic patients. Effective blood pressure reduction with ACE inhibitors and/or non-ACE inhibitors, frequently in combination with diuretics, reduces albuminuria, delays the progression of nephropathy, postpones end-stage renal failure, and improves survival in diabetic nephropathy.
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PMID:Diabetic hypertensive patients. Is this a group in need of particular care and attention? 1009 4

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is an inflammatory vasculopathy in which T cells and macrophages infiltrate the wall of medium and large arteries. Clinical consequences such as blindness and stroke are related to arterial occlusion. Formation of aortic aneurysms may result from necrosis of smooth muscle cells and fragmentation of elastic membranes. The molecular mechanisms of arterial wall injury in GCA are not understood. To identify mechanisms of arterial damage, gene expression in inflamed and unaffected temporal artery specimens was compared by differential display polymerase chain reaction. Genes differentially expressed in arterial lesions included 3 products encoded by the mitochondrial genome. Immunohistochemistry with antibodies specific for a 65-kDa mitochondrial antigen revealed that increased expression of mitochondrial products was characteristic of multinucleated giant cells and of CD68+ macrophages that cluster in the media and at the media-intima junction. 4-Hydroxy-2-nonenal adducts, products of lipid peroxidation, were detected on smooth muscle cells and on tissue infiltrating cells, in close proximity to multinucleated giant cells and CD68+ macrophages. Also, giant cells and macrophages with overexpression of mitochondrial products were able to synthesize metalloproteinase-2. Our data suggest that in the vascular lesions characteristic for GCA, a subset of macrophages has the potential to support several pathways of arterial injury, including the release of reactive oxygen species and the production of metalloproteinase-2. This macrophage subset is topographically defined and is also identified by overexpression of mitochondrial genes. Because these macrophages have a high potential to promote several mechanisms of arterial wall damage, they should be therapeutically targeted to prevent blood vessel destruction.
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PMID:Tissue-destructive macrophages in giant cell arteritis. 1032 42

Diabetes mellitus is a growing health problem in the Asia-Pacific region. The acute and chronic complications of diabetes mellitus are major causes of hospital admissions, blindness, renal failure, amputations, stroke, and coronary heart disease in this region. Compared with the general population, the annual per capita health care expenditure is estimated to be four-fold for people with diabetes. Recent prospective studies have provided unequivocal evidence for the crucial role of prolonged hyperglycaemia in the development of chronic diabetic complications. Although the aetiology of hyperglycaemia-induced damage of the kidneys, eyes, nerves, and arteries still remain to be elucidated, observational and interventional studies show that the occurrence and progression of these complications can be prevented by the optimal control of blood glucose, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia. Lifestyle changes such as weight control, increased physical exercise, and smoking cessation are also potentially beneficial in preventing diabetes mellitus and coronary artery disease. Furthermore, the morbidity and mortality caused by diabetes mellitus can be reduced by secondary prevention through regular screening, early detection, and appropriate treatment of chronic complications. Improved diabetes education is needed among health professionals as well as the general and diabetic populations. Government and public health officials should be mindful of the economic impact of this major health problem so that adequate health care resources can be allocated for the primary and secondary prevention of diabetic complications.
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PMID:Diabetic complications and their implications on health care in Asia. 1079 4

The precise mechanism of neurological symptoms in patients with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is still controversial. The diffusion weighted MR findings at the acute phase of a neurological event in MELAS are described and the pathophysiology of stroke-like lesion in the light of diffusion changes is discussed. Brain MRI was performed 2 days after the sudden onset of cortical blindness in a 25 year old patient with MELAS. Fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images showed multifocal cortical and subcortical hyperintensities located bilaterally in the frontobasal and the temporo-occipital lobes. Diffusion weighted images showed normal to increased apparent diffusion coefficient values in the acute left temporooccipital lesion and increased values in the older stroke-like lesions. These diffusion weighted findings support the metabolic rather than the ischaemic pathophysiological hypothesis for stroke-like episodes occurring in MELAS. Normal or increased apparent diffusion coefficient values within 48 hours of a neurological deficit of abrupt onset should raise the possibility of MELAS, especially if conventional MR images show infarct-like lesions.
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PMID:Can diffusion weighted magnetic resonance imaging help differentiate stroke from stroke-like events in MELAS? 1089 3

Giant cell arteritis (GCA) is the commonest primary systemic vasculitis in the United States. Severe outcomes include blindness and stroke, and death may result from aortic dissection. Temporal artery biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of involved vessels shows promise as a useful noninvasive method for diagnosis and assessment of disease activity. Corticosteroid therapy is effective but is associated with considerable morbidity. Longitudinal studies with large numbers of patients are required to identify appropriate steroid-sparing agents. New insights into the immunopathogenesis of GCA have allowed us to identify heterogeneous subsets of patients with varying clinical presentations corresponding to specific cytokine profiles. The concept of the involved artery as an active participant in the events leading to luminal obstruction has been realized and provides the opportunity to evaluate novel therapies to modify the course of the disease.
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PMID:Spectrum of giant cell vasculitis. 1112 88


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